The Book
A field manual for running a check from scratch.
Twelve chapters. Written by someone who ran the search the hard way first. No law degree required — but you will know what an attorney knows about public records by chapter four.
The directory is free during soft launch. The paid toolkit is parked.
The most common mistake is running the search in the wrong order. You find nothing in the statewide court portal, conclude there is nothing, and stop. But his cases were filed in the county where he lived — not the state portal. Chapter three exists entirely because of that mistake.— LP
01
Why you are doing this
Naming the situation without minimizing it.
02
What public means
The legal definition. What it covers and what it does not.
03
Build a location history first
Every search lives or dies on this step.
04
The six systems
Court. Corrections. Registry. Assessor. Recorder. Vital.
05
How to read a docket
Case numbers, charge codes, disposition language.
06
What sealed means in your state
It is not the same everywhere. Here is how to check.
07
Property and money signals
Assessor, treasurer, UCC. What to look for.
08
The registry problem
Why it misses people and how to check anyway.
09
Federal records
PACER, BOP, USPS. The layer most people skip.
10
When you find something
How to read it. When to act. Who to call.
11
Twelve common mistakes
Annotated failures. What went wrong and why.
12
The scripts
Eleven conversations you may need to have.